Page 9 of Shade
"Oh! I knew something was off about your sitting-on-a-desk story!" Diego exclaimed, making Liam's cheeks pinken. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I was sure Diego would tell me later.
"Your turn, who are you here with?" Liam asked, searching behind Diego and frowning when he saw no one. He turned to look behind him, then back at Diego, clearly confused.
"Shade," Diego admitted with a smile, and Liam's eyes went wide.
"Oh my God, really? I am so happy for you! I gotta go give Shade a hug," Liam said, almost tripping in his excitement, and I chuckled.
"Ah, he's here too," Diego said, making Liam's eyes shoot right to his shadow. Our eyes practically met, but Liam couldn't exactly see me.
"Shade! I'm so happy for you! This is so amazing!" Then he took Diego's hand. "Come on, Let's get some food and you can tell me all about how this happened."
Liam dragged Diego—and me with him—off like a whirlwind with Haruto trailing beside me, careful not to step on me. It wouldn't have harmed me, but I supposed he was being polite.
"Congratulations," he murmured, and I smiled when I realized he was talking to me. I was sure I'd see both of them in my area later, and some of the others too.
After Liam, Diego, and Haruto had grabbed food for all four of us, we made our way back to my area, Liam promising to introduce Diego to the others later.
We chatted as we ate, seated around a coffee table with Diego and I on a couch, Liam on an armchair, and Haruto standing beside him. With his spider legs, Haruto had trouble sittingon anything beside his web-spun hammocks, so he preferred to stand.
Liam was excited about Diego now being a part of the Sanctuary family, especially because he'd been worrying about how he would invite Diego to his wedding.
I loved seeing the wide smile on Diego's face. He was nothing like the child I'd once known—except for that smile. He still got a dimple in his right cheek, and I wanted to reach out and brush my finger against it, to press into that little dip.
Since we had company, I assuaged myself by teasing his dimple with a shadow. Haruto could probably see it, but he didn't comment.
After we'd finished eating, Haruto and Liam took our plates with them, wishing us a good day as they took their leave.
I waited until the outer door had closed before shifting closer to Diego, who turned to face me, his eyes searching me even though he couldn't see me.
"I could feel your shadows, you know. Teasing me, tickling me," he murmured, and I smiled sheepishly.
"I wanted to touch you, but I didn't think it would be polite in front of company."
Diego grinned. "And mauling me with your shadows is okay?"
"It's so dark here, they wouldn't really be able to see much."
"Oh, I forgot about that. It's always dark to me, so," he said with a shrug, and I frowned. Could I have stopped that somehow? If I'd taken him to a hospital before taking care of that asshole? Would he still have his sight if I'd reacted faster?
"Don't do that," he murmured, pulling my attention back to him. His face was drawn, his lips turned down in a frown.
"Don't do what?"
"Don't—don't pity me. Don't try to figure out if you could've stopped this somehow. Don't treat me like there's something wrong with me, like I'mlackingsomehow."
I sucked in a breath, then pulled him close, pressing my lips against his cheek. "You're not lacking, Diego. You're everything to me. Everything. You're all that matters."
Diego exhaled a rough breath, but he was still stiff in my arms, as if he didn't quite believe me.
"The only reason I was thinking about the what-ifs is because I wanted to save you the pain."
Diego huffed. "I told you. The only thing that caused me pain was you leaving. Not losing my sight. I know I should probably miss it or want it back, but I honestly don't care. I have everything I could ever want, and while being able to see again would be cool, I'm not losing sleep over it. If that's not enough for you—ifI'mnot enough for you—"
I cut him off with a hard kiss, unwilling to let him continue. I never wanted him to think he was lacking, that I needed anything except him.
"You're enough, Diego," I murmured against his lips, and he made a sound suspiciously like a sob.
I pulled him closer, as close as it was physically possible, and wrapped him in my shadows, shielding him from everything that could ever harm him, even my own stupid words.
